


Sanctuary:  Epilogue

by Ink_Gypsy, Keye



Series: Sanctuary Universe [2]
Category: LOTR RPS AU
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-10
Updated: 2010-07-10
Packaged: 2017-10-10 11:52:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/99468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keye/pseuds/Keye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young gay man escaping an abusive relationship finds refuge with a stranger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sanctuary:  Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> Though the main story ended with Chapter 24, this epilogue ties up some loose ends.

Elijah fidgeted beside Sean on the vinyl sofa inside the hospital lab's waiting room. Sean said knowing was better than not knowing, and while he'd accepted that in his head, Elijah was still fighting the urge to run.

Sean slid an arm around his waist and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Just worried," Elijah told him.

"Well don't be," Sean replied. "Everything's going to be fine."

Elijah pulled at the rose quartz bracelet on his wrist. "But if I test positive—"

"You won't," Sean said immediately, as if just saying it would make it so.

"Sean?"

"Hmmm?"

"I've been thinking," Elijah said softly. "Maybe my staying with you isn't such a good idea."

Sean's face clouded. "I don't understand, Elijah. You said you cared for me. If you only said you did to spare my feelings--"

"God no, Sean," Elijah interrupted.

"Then why are you talking about leaving? If you love me—"

Elijah took his hand. "It's because I love you," he explained. "You had to watch Daniel die. If I'm positive, I'll eventually get sick, and I don't want you to have to go through that again."

Sean lifted Elijah's hand and kissed it. "Elijah, when you love someone, you don't run the first time things get rough."

When his name was called, Elijah stood up to meet a woman dressed in street clothes. "You have some paperwork to fill out," she said in an overly-enthusiastic tone, "then you'll get your blood drawn."

Elijah nodded. The words _Would you go in with me, Sean?_ were on the tip of his tongue, but he bit them back. His asking that would be too embarrassing. He wasn't a kid, even if at the moment he felt like one.

Sean gave Elijah's hand a squeeze of encouragement then let it go. "I'll be right here when you come out," he promised. And he was. The moment Elijah came back into the waiting room Sean rose to meet him, asking, "When will you get your results?"

"They said I can call the hospital tomorrow morning, after nine."

Sean nodded. "And now that we have the cell phone, we won't even have to leave the cabin to make the call." At Elijah's bleak expression, Sean put an arm around his shoulders. "No use worrying about it until then," he said, pulling Elijah close. "Come on, let's go."

Elijah's mind was working non-stop and he found himself sitting in the Jeep's passenger seat and not remembering how he'd gotten there. "The odds are with me, aren't they?" he asked hopefully. "I mean, it was only one time. Except for that night, Pedar always wore protection, but I never asked him how careful he was before we met." He looked down at the hands he had clasped in his lap. "I was too much of a coward to ask. Then I figured it wouldn't make any difference if I knew. Knowing wouldn't change anything." Elijah shook his head as if to clear it then looked at Sean again. "It happened almost three years ago, and even though I tried not to think about it, I guess I still did. It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?"

"It only takes having unprotected sex once," Sean reminded him, "but no matter what your results are, it's always better to know the truth."

"You really meant what you said, didn't you?" Elijah asked. "That you'd stay with me no matter how the test comes out?"

Sean nodded. "Of course I meant it. Do you really think I would turn my back on you if you were positive?"

Elijah shrugged. "Pedar would. If I was positive, I know he'd kick me to the curb, even if he was the one who gave it to me."

"Not all men are as callous as Pedar."

"I know, but after what you went through with Daniel, it wouldn't be fair to ask you to go through that kind of pain again."

Sean sighed. "You wouldn't have to ask me, Elijah. I'd do it because I wanted to. Maybe it's old-fashioned, but I believe that once you commit to someone, you stay for the long haul. I want to be there for you through the good _and_ the bad. That's what love means."

Elijah felt a lump forming in his throat. Fearing he might cry, he uttered a mock groan and rolled his eyes. "Fuck, Sean," he said sarcastically, "you're not going to start quoting lines from _Love Story_, are you?"

Sean shook his head and chuckled. "Why doesn't it surprise me that you know a movie that fits the situation?" he asked. When Elijah only smiled, Sean leaned over the gearshift and kissed him, then turned the key in the ignition. "Let's go home."

It _was_ his home now, Elijah realized when they stepped inside the cabin. He wasn't just a visitor anymore, no longer the unexpected guest he'd been when he'd wandered through the door by chance, feverish and disoriented. "It's stupid," he said, "but even though nothing's changed, the cabin feels different to me now."

"Not stupid at all, Elijah," Sean said. "Having you here has made me change the way I think about this place, too. Only a few weeks ago it was _my_ home. Now it's _ours_."

"Ours," Elijah echoed. "I like the sound of that."

"So do I."

"Pedar said his place was ours, too, but I never believed it...I mean, it never felt like a home, any more than my parents' house did after my Mom died. It was like I was just visiting, living there until I found the place where I really belonged."

"And now you've found it," Sean said.

Elijah's smile was quick. "Yeah, I have, and I think I knew it that very first day, after I passed out and woke up on your bed with that cold cloth across my forehead. I said I had to leave, but you stopped from getting up and told me I didn't. I knew I wasn't going anywhere the shape I was in, but even though I couldn't let myself consider it then, I think I knew, somewhere deep inside me, that I wasn't ever going to have to leave, like my being here was meant to be." He bit his bottom lip. "Pretty dumb, huh?"

Sean shook his head. "I wouldn't discount fate's part in it," he said, sitting down on the loveseat where they'd had their first intimate contact. "I think part of me, a part I wasn't ready to face yet, believed our finding each other wasn't just an accident. Your breaking down on my lane, then finding your way to this cabin where I'd hidden myself away from the world for over a year. It was as if some unseen power had decided I shouldn't be alone anymore."

"And if I hadn't come along?" Elijah asked.

"I probably still would be."

Elijah joined Sean on the loveseat, shaking his head as he sat down. "No way, Sean." he disagreed. "You've got too much love in your heart not to share it with someone. In a little while you would have realized you couldn't stay alone forever. You would have left this cabin and gone back to your old life." Elijah grinned mischievously "I'm just glad it didn't happen before I got here."

Sean raised his eyebrows. "I still could, you know," he teased. "There must be dozens of sad young men out there in need of rescue. Maybe I should go find one of them."

"Don't even think about it!" Elijah threatened with a laugh. "You're mine."

"I am," Sean nodded in agreement, and pulled Elijah onto his lap. The kiss was long and deep, and while his lips were busy on Elijah's, Sean slid his hands under Elijah's tee-shirt.

Despite the early September chill, Sean's fingers were warm, lighting small fires on Elijah's skin wherever they touched. Sean made his living using his mind, his imagination, but his hands weren't soft like Pedar's. They were a working man's hands, rough and calloused from the manual labor he enjoyed. Such large hands, but surprisingly gentle, and when they brushed his nipples, Elijah shivered.

Elijah didn't want it to end, but there was something he wanted more, something he'd been thinking about constantly since his bare skin had first touched Sean's as they lay together on the loveseat. They shared Sean's bed for real now, had since the night of the storm when they'd torn down the invisible barrier that had kept each on his own side. Being naked together while they explored each other's bodies, luxuriating in the feel of flesh on flesh had only increased his desire for Sean. He wanted to feel Sean inside him, to belong to him.

When they finally broke from the kiss, Elijah said, "I'm sorry we have to wait, Sean."

Sean's lips twitched. "I don't feel like waiting."

"Me either," Elijah replied, "but it's only until tomorrow."

"Why wait until tomorrow for what you can do today?" Sean asked.

"Yeah right," Elijah told him, but studying his face, he could see that Sean was serious. "We can't," he insisted. "It won't be safe."

A mischievous look came over Sean's face. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small white plastic bag. "It will be if we use these."

Elijah took the bag and opened it, his eyes going wide at what he saw inside. "How--when?" he sputtered.

"While you were getting your blood test," Sean replied. "As soon as you left the waiting room I went to the drug store next to the hospital."

Elijah reached into the bag and brought out the tube of lubricant and the box of magnum-sized condoms. "But you said we should wait—" he began.

"Only because we didn't have protection," Sean told him. "Now there's nothing to stop us." He frowned. "I'm afraid they didn't have much of a selection so I had to go with the basics, KY and Trojans. But even without exotic flavors, fancy colors or ribbing for extra pleasure, I think they'll do the job." When Elijah didn't laugh or even smile, Sean said, "Look, Elijah, I know we've been talking about this, but if you're not ready..."

"No, I am. I've thought about us being together a thousand times."

"But I can tell that something is bothering you. What is it?"

Elijah felt his cheeks burn. "I'm a little nervous."

"Are you afraid I'm going to hurt you?" Sean asked soberly.

Elijah shook his head. "You couldn't."

Sean shrugged. "Well I am pretty big," he said with more embarrassment than pride.

As if Elijah could ever forget that first sight of Sean's cock as he'd stood outside the shower. "It's not like I'm a virgin."

"Well if you're not afraid I'm going to hurt you, then why are you nervous?"

Elijah slid off Sean's lap. "I just don't want to disappoint you, Sean."

"You couldn't," Sean echoed Elijah's words.

"But I don't have much experience. I've only been with one guy."

"And I was with the same man for ten years," Sean told him. "None of that matters."

"But sex matters," Elijah insisted. "What if we're not..." He searched for the right word. "...compatible? You deserve someone who can satisfy you."

Sean smiled. "I like sex as much as the next guy, but sex has no value for me without love. And I love you, my sweet Elijah. I'm in love with you. Just having you in my life would be enough to satisfy me." He allowed himself a chuckle. "So even if the earth doesn't move when we're together, sex with you will be the icing on the cake."

Elijah let out the breath he'd been holding, Sean's words already lessening his anxiety. He said nothing, but when Sean stood up, extending his hand, Elijah took it and let Sean lead him to the bed. Playfully undressing each other helped dispel what was left of his nerves, but seeing Sean's half-hard cock had Elijah's pulse racing again. "I have no idea what you like," he said as he lay down beside Sean.

"You will in time," Sean replied. "Learning about each other is part of the journey, but I have to tell you, I've been dreaming about being inside you."

Elijah said, "I've been dreaming about that same thing."

"Good." Sean looked hesitant, then offered gamely, "But if _you_ want to top..." When Elijah only shook his head, Sean admitted, "I'm glad. I've never enjoyed being on that end of things." At Elijah's giggle, he colored. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," Elijah smiled. He was overjoyed that he'd be able to please Sean by giving him what he wanted in bed, and knowing he wanted the same thing himself only added to the happiness he felt.

Pedar hadn't been much for foreplay, so expecting them to get right to it, Elijah was surprised that Sean didn't seem to be in any hurry. Gathering Elijah into his arms, Sean gave him another long, deep kiss, then kept kissing him until Elijah felt his body go limp. Sean had such a talented mouth that Elijah thought if Sean never did anything but kiss him he could die a happy man. But when that mouth started moving over his torso, down his legs and between them, he knew he wanted more, knew they both did.

When Sean was rock hard, he rolled one of the condoms onto his erection then squeezed some of the KY onto his fingers. Elijah automatically started to turn over onto his stomach, but Sean's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "No," Sean told him, green eyes dark with desire, "look at me. I want to see your face, watch you while I'm inside you."

Nodding, Elijah returned to his back, then tried not to squirm when Sean pushed two fingers into him. The long, thick fingers moved in gentle circles, opening him up while spreading lube to ease the way for the hard, rigid flesh that would follow.

Elijah felt a pang of guilt that he hadn't been totally honest. Sean's size did worry him. It was natural there would be pain, but Elijah knew any discomfort he experienced would make Sean want to stop, and stopping was the last thing Elijah wanted. He tried to relax his mind and body, bracing himself, but when Sean slipped inside him there was no pain, just a welcomed fullness.

"Are you all right, Elijah?" Sean asked.

"Fine," Elijah answered. And when Sean began to move, he bumped fine up to amazing.

Sean was right, Elijah thought later as he lay beside him, sleepy and satisfied, sex was better when there was love. Because there was love, there had been a connection during sex with Sean that he'd never felt with Pedar. And though he'd seen desire in Pedar's eyes during sex, there had never been the unconditional love he'd seen in Sean's. He'd had sex with Pedar, Elijah realized, but tonight, with Sean, he'd learned what it felt like to make love.

"So what do you think?" Sean asked lazily as he turned his head so he could nuzzle Elijah's neck. "Are we compatible?"

"I'm pretty sure I felt the earth move," Elijah said, keeping his face as serious as possible. "How about you?"

Sean paused, as if considering, then decided, "I'd say it was at least a ten on the Richter Scale."

"But I still expect a cake with icing," Elijah demanded with a smile, "chocolate icing on devil's food cake."

Sean grinned. "I'll make you one myself."

"For real?"

"Scout's Honor," Sean promised, "but not until tomorrow. You wore me out, and this old man needs his rest."

Elijah gave him a light poke in the ribs. "Old man my ass," he giggled, then snuggled tighter again Sean. "I'm kinda tired, too," he admitted, "but good tired, you know?"

Sean nodded. "Yes, I know." Elijah threw his right arm across Sean's waist then drew it back at the sight of the rose quartz bracelet against Sean's skin. "What's wrong?" Sean asked.

Elijah fingered the beads. "I should have taken these off," he said guiltily.

"It doesn't matter, Elijah."

"But Pedar gave them to me. It isn't right—"

"I know the bracelets mean something to you," Sean said gently. "If they didn't, you wouldn't still be wearing them. We both had lives before we met. Our falling in love doesn't erase them, and it shouldn't. Everything in this cabin holds a memory for me of Daniel, but that doesn't mean we can't be happy here." He ran his finger down Elijah's cheek. "There weren't only bad times with Pedar, and there's nothing wrong with your wanting to hold on to your memories of the good ones."

"Maybe," Elijah considered.

"You need to do what your heart tells you, but just know it won't hurt me if you still want to wear them."

"Okay."

They lay together quietly, and minutes later, Sean's even, steady breathing told Elijah he had fallen asleep. He raised his arm and stared at the bracelets on his wrist, then slipped them off. There _were_ good memories of Pedar, he thought, but not enough to make up for the bad. Pedar was his past and Sean his future.

Elijah turned over, and opening the drawer of the nightstand, dropped the bracelets in and shut the drawer. From now on it was all about the future.

******

Sean woke at the first hint of dawn, feeling on top of the world. Elijah was tucked close, breath warm on his shoulder, fast asleep. Sean breathed in the scent of him, nuzzling in his hair and kissing his forehead, still marveling. They were a couple in love. Tilda had been tickled pink. She'd said so, then hugged them both tight and wished them happiness.

Elijah drew in a soft breath and rolled over onto his back, still sleeping. Sean let him go, only lay there looking at him in the growing light. He'd taken off Pedar's bracelets. Sean tenderly brushed fingers over the slightly paler skin where they had been on Elijah's wrist, smiling at himself. Mine, was what he thought, and felt he was entitled. Pedar was a fool. Elijah twitched.

Sean reluctantly pulled his hand away, backing off to keep from waking him, and quietly got up. If he stayed, Elijah would end up awake, and one thing would lead to another. He paused in mid-step, but went on. There was something he wanted to do before Elijah woke. First thing though, he started coffee, then had a shower and shave, and brushed his teeth.

When he went back out, enough rosy dawn light filled the cabin to see the smile on Elijah's face from across the room. Sean went over to the bed. He was still asleep, contentedly, it would seem. Sean smiled and bent to touch the lightest kiss to those lips, then dragged himself away.

Stepping out onto the porch with a cup of coffee and the phone, Sean's mind was already plotting. They'd no doubt have to erect a tower to pick up a signal over the trees. The west edge of the clearing seemed the best place to Sean, so they wouldn't have to necessarily see it. He took a gulp of his hot coffee, then left it there on the porch rail, to go down and walk around the yard.

The morning sky was hazy, but bright, and there was a pleasant, early morning cool in the air. It had rained off and on every day since the first downpour. The garden was looking like a jungle all of a sudden. The tomatoes had burst. Sean told himself he'd get to it the next day, or the next. For the present, his priorities had shifted a bit. He walked on around the cabin. The rain barrel was full. That was a good thing.

On the west side was a stand of walnut trees, but there were several spots that would surely be suitable. He set to calling around about getting broadband installed. It was going to cost plenty, but he didn't care about that. It would make Elijah happy to have access to the internet, to have instant contact with his sister and his old friends, and his music. Sean inevitably felt a small pang of concern, that Elijah might get back in touch with the real world and find a reason to want to leave. But it was a small concern, he told himself. He made arrangements for a company to come out and put up the tower. That would be soon enough for Elijah to find out.

Sean walked back around to the porch, and found Elijah leaning over the rail, looking perfectly ravishing with his bed hair and his glasses on. Excited about something, clearly.

"I just realized it's been three weeks since I had a cigarette. I guess I've quit."

Sean gave him a broad smile. "I knew you could. And I know how hard a thing it is to do." He went up the steps and caught Elijah in his arms. "I'm proud of you, love."

Elijah held to him. "Were you talking to someone, Sean?"

Sean looked at the phone, caught red-handed. He said, "No," with a wince. He wanted it to be a surprise. "I was just going to call and see if they've done anything with the car. But I left the number on my desk, duh." Elijah giggled, and said he'd get it, heading inside. Sean settled into his lounger and took a last, quick look at the numbers he'd jotted down, then stuck the notepad into the back pocket of his jeans. He was looking innocent, he hoped, when Elijah came back out.

Elijah handed him the slip of paper with Hatcher's number scribbled on it, then tucked himself into his chair next to Sean's.

Sean called the body shop and eventually got Frank on the line. They were having trouble locating the parts they needed, he said, but estimated the probable cost for repair at a cool thousand, if they could get the axle locally. The car wasn't worth that running, Sean knew. The man said as much, and offered him fifty dollars to scrap it. Sean said he'd have to get back to him on it.

Elijah looked at him like bad news was expected.

"Sorry, love. It'll cost more than it's worth to fix. If you want, they'll give you fifty dollars for it and send it to the scrap heap. I know it sounds like a raw deal, but Hatcher's an honest man, and I think the car was already on its last legs when you turned down the lane here." Sean took his hand and gently squeezed it. "You'll get your deposit back."

Elijah was disappointed, clearly, but nodded. "Dom said it might not get me very far. I'll have to call him and see if it's okay."

Sean handed him the phone. "You can do that now, if you want."

Elijah took the phone with what looked like trepidation, but nodded. "I'd better."

Sean left him to it and went inside to put something together for breakfast. He heard Elijah's voice through the screen door, soft and tentative at first, but quickly growing easier, even excited. Sean went on to the kitchen, out of listening range, and fixed himself a tomato sandwich while Elijah's Pop Tarts were toasting.

Elijah came in at last as Sean was pouring them fresh coffee. Dom didn't really care about the car, he said, looking rosy cheeked and sheepish. "He says we can keep the money as a wedding present."

Sean laughed. "We'll have to do something nice for Dom. Maybe he and Billy would like to come and visit."

Elijah said that would be great, but his expression turned serious and thoughtful as he sat down on the couch. "With that and what I didn't spend, there's almost enough."

Sean brought their coffee mugs and set them down on the low table. "For what, Elijah? If there's something you need or want..."

Elijah looked up at him. "No, Sean, there isn't anything I need or want." Just you, the look said.

Sean sank down to the couch and hugged him close. "But?"

Elijah softly sighed. "I just thought, if I could send Pedar back the money I took from him, then I wouldn't owe him anything and it would finally be over."

Sean asked him how much he was short, and Elijah knew the exact amount, thirty-two dollars and eighty-nine cents. Sean took out his wallet and removed two twenties to lay on the table. "There's my share."

"No, Sean. You've given me too much already."

Sean took his hand and held it. "I can, Elijah, and I want to. It's for a damned good cause, and I totally approve. We'll drive over to Hatcher's later and get the money, then we'll send it off and have done with Pedar."

Elijah leaned into him for a hug. "I'll get a job, Sean."

Sean embraced and held him. "So will I, love. But in the meantime, we'll be fine."

Elijah clung a little, saying nothing. Sean told him his Pop Tarts were getting cold. He sighed. "I'm not really hungry."

Sean lovingly stroked his rumpled hair. "You're worried about your blood test." Sean looked at the clock on the fireplace mantel. "They said after nine?" Elijah nodded. Twenty-three more minutes to wait. "Did you finish putting those last photos in order, Elijah? Can I see them?"

Elijah knew it was an attempt to distract him, but went along. He booted the computer, then brought up the slide-show he'd made of the pictures he'd last taken, two days before when they spotted a double rainbow over the lake.

The photos were great. Sean told him so, analyzing each one, pointing out a perfect angle here or a beautifully caught glimmer of sunlight on water there. But Elijah was hardly listening. Sean finally shut up and just held his hand until it was time.

Elijah picked up the phone, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, then punched in the number from the card they'd given him. His expression was calm, but Sean knew what it felt like. Elijah gave them his name when they answered, then waited. Sean knew when they told him, when a look of utter disbelief came over his face.

"Negative? Are you sure?"

Sean slid an arm around him, and felt him shaking. Had he honestly thought it wouldn't be? "Elijah."

Elijah fumbled the phone to the table and turned on him a look of wonder. "I'm negative, Sean."

Sean smiled. "I know."

Elijah laughed, threw his arms around Sean's neck and kissed him, a kiss full of promise for the future. Now, they could get on with making a new life together.

Sean took Elijah's head in his hands and looked into his eyes. "Feeling better?"

Elijah nodded, smiling. "Sorry I was such a baby about it."

"You were not." Sean got up, took Elijah's hand, and got him on his feet. "Let's have breakfast, then you'll feel even better. Maybe we'll go down to the lake and dip a little skinny this afternoon. It'll be a warm and humid one today."

Elijah impulsively hugged him tight. "I love you, Sean."

Sean brushed his cheek against Elijah's, and whispered in his ear. "I love you, Elijah, more than I can say."

They stood in the kitchen and had their breakfast of cold Pop Tarts and soggy tomato sandwiches, and everything was right with the world. Looking back to where he'd been only weeks before, Sean gladly conceded that miracles do happen. It seemed the fates were smiling on them after all.


End file.
